Mars War Logs: Interview with developer Spiders Studio

The developer of Mars War Logs talks to me about story, in-game choices and combat in the game

One of the indie games to look forward to this year is Mars War Logs, which will be released on both PC and consoles next month. Recently, more screenshots from the game have been released, along with a trailer that shows off details about game combat. But what really makes the game appealing is the story, which will feature dialogue choices that help determine the outcome of the sci-fi RPG game.

In an interview with Spiders Studio’s CEO Jehanne Rousseau, I learned more about what can be expected from Mars War Logs and how it was created. The initial story was inspired by a French film, The Army of Shadows. But it had to revolve around the main character. Rousseau said, “We wanted to create a new story (compared to the one we originally wrote when we created the game universe) that would be more centered around the main character, more than the usual “save the world” epic thing. I was interested in creating a story about heroism, but real heroism – the kind you see in real war or history, not fantasy stuff.”

So with the story present, how will the title pull in and interact with the gamer? Dialogue choices, along with other in-game options will define how the story plays out. There will even be two separate ending cut scenes. “Each of those [ending cut scenes] will be influenced by the choices you’ve made,” Rousseau said. “All the important choices of the game will find a conclusion in that moment.”

Combat will also be very customizable. Depending on your choices there, the gameplay fighting scenes will feel very different. Rousseau said, “A player that is more combat-oriented will have to be very nimble – to switch attacks, roll, parry, etc. A more technomancy-oriented one will have to keep their distance from the enemy and use the electric shield to be able to cast damaging spells. And, of course, a Renegade will probably try to always plan the fights, using stealth, traps and such.”

If you have taken a look at the game’s screenshots, you’ll see a beautifully-realized world. Spider Studios worked with Camille Bachman to get the game’s design to that level of detail. “He really brought something unique into the game,” Rousseau said. After Bachman’s vision was complete, the 3D art team added the rest. “They did a lot of work, adding details, life, SFX and such to bring what was the most important thing for us in an RPG: an atmosphere.”

That atmosphere will take place across three main locations in Mars War Logs. Each chapter of the game covers one larger location, but that location is then divided up into several smaller areas. “You begin the game in a POW camp (where you’ll be able to explore underground tunnels, the cistern, power plant and the camp itself ), then the main city of the guild Aurora, (with different quarters) and then an hydroponic site (with agricultural zone, industrial, ruins, path of shadow, etc) and you finish the game in the Source, the center of the guild government,” Rousseau stated.

Mars War Logs is expected to be released to PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 next month.